Motor-vehicle.



C. E. BROAD.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT. 28 1912.

1 ,237A63., Patented Aug. 21, 1917.

' I Mum whom v WWW mo WEED STATES PATENT omen.

oHAnLns nrnonn, or Damon, n rcnieannssrenon ro rAoKAnn roroitcAn COMPANY, onDEr'RoIT, MICHIGAN, a-conronn'rron or ivrrcnreAlv.

MOTOR-VEHICLE."

To all wi wm; it may concern:

Be. it known that I, CHARLES: E. BROAD,

a-citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Detroit, \Vayne county, State of Michigan,

have invented certainnew and-useful Im- PIOYGDIQIltS in Motor-Vehicles,,of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to wheels and more particularly to steering wheels for motor vehicles. One of the objects of the invention is to providea wheel of simple construction having a pair of spaced. roller bearings on. theinterior of. its hub and a pivotalconnection between the axle .and the steering knuckle, on which the .wheel is mounted, arranged substantially in theplane of the wheel and between I the bearings,

whereby a well-balanced construction is produced and comparatively large .bearlng surfaces may be provided in the knuckle and' Other objects and the features of novelty.

will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: c

Figure 1 is a substantially vertical transverse section through a wheel and steering knuckle embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the inner side of the wheel and knuckle shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to thevdrawings, 10 indicates an axle member having an eye at its end, in which is arranged a pivot pin 11, this pin being secured to the axle by a set screw 12. A steering knuckle 13 is arranged on the end of the axle and secured thereto by means of the pin 11, a thrust ring 14 being arranged between the lower side of the axle and the knuckle for transmitting the load, on the axle, to the knuckle, and for wearing purposes.

As shown in Fig. 2 the pin ll may be in clined slightly from the vertical in order to provide what is commonly known as the trailing construction wherein the point of contact of the wheel with the ground is slightly to the rear of the intersection of the axis of the pivot with the ground so that in case of breakage of the steering Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug 21 1917.

Application filed October 28, 1912; Serial No. 728,308.

mechanism the wheel; has a tendency to trail behind the pivot.

I The inner end ;of the steering knuckle 13 is turned to pro vide a seat, for-the inner ring 14 of a roller bearing which comprises, in addition to this ring,.the balls 15 and the outer ring 16.; .As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the ring 1e isv securely held-against outward movement on the knuckle by means of a shoulder on the.latter, and is also held against inward movement by means of. an

' annular plate 17, thisplate being secured to the knuckle. by means of bolts 18.

The outer end of the knuckle is reduced in diameter and has arranged thereon the inner. ring 19 of aroller bearing which comprises, in additionto this ring, the balls 20 and the outer ring 21. The inner .ring 19 of this bearing is held against inward movement on the knuckle by the shoulder22 and is held against outwardmovement by means of a washer 23 and an outwardly removable nut, .24, the latterbeing secured on the knucklebya cotter pin2o, or other suitable lockingnieans.

A wheel comprising a hub member 26 and spokes 2,7 is, mounted on the, knuckle by )means of the bearings abovementioned. The

hub member of the wheel preferably consists of a cylindrical body portion 28 surrounding the pivot 11 and forming a seat for the inner ends of the spokes, an outwardly extending radial flange 29 at its inner end and an integral cap 30 at its outer end. On the interior of the cylindrical body portion 28 of the hub member dust-proof joint between the plate and the periphery of the plate 17. The hub member 26 is also provided on its interior with a seat 35 for the bearing ring 21, the parts being so arranged that the ring is free to djust itself axially relative to the hub mem- The flange 29 is preferably formed integral with the hub member, and an annular in position on the hub, the plate 36 and the spokes being clamped by means of suitable.

bolts 37.

A steering arm 38 is provided with a foot which bears against the outer surface of the plate 17 and is held in position thereon by means of tWo of the bolts 18 which pass through the foot and also through the plate 17 When it is desired to remove the wheel from the knuckle it is only necessary to take out the bolts 33, thereby permitting the wheel to be removed outwardly, leaving the bearings intact on the knuckle, where they are readily accessible for inspection and repair and may also be conveniently removed. In order to remove the outer bearing it is only necessary to take ofl the nut 24 and the washer 23, and in order to remove the inner bearing it is only necessary to take of]? the plate17, thereby permitting the bearing to be removed inwardly. The pivot pin 11 may.

also be conveniently removed by loosening the set screw 12 and driving the pin either downwardly or upwardly. 7

From the drawings it will be obvious that the larger bearing at the inner end of the knuckle will take all of the side thrust of the wheel since the smaller bearing at the outer end of the knuckle is of the floating type on account of its being free to move axially relative to the hub member. The

Copies of-this patent may be obtained for plate 32 revolves with the wheel and therefaces for the pin without producing an excessively large roller bearing at the inner end of the knuckle. I

It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the details of the construction, within the scope of the appended claim, and that therefore the invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

In a motor vehicle, the combination of a steering knuckle, a wheel, roller bearings between the wheel and steering lmuckle, an annular plate at the inner end of the knuckle adapted to secure one of said bearings thereon, a steering arm and bolts passing through said steering arm and said plate for securing the same to said knuckle. I

In testimony whereof I'aflix my signature in presence'of two witnesses.

CHARLES nnnonn.

Witnesses:

' H. D. CHURCH,

' N. Bonn.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. i 

